Directory / Iowa
Iowa Jails & Prisons
Every jail, prison and detention facility in Iowa — addresses, phone numbers, visiting rules, and the official inmate search for each one.
Iowa has 9 correctional institutions operated by Iowa Department of Corrections, plus 98 county and local jails. This directory lists 33 because it still carries institutions the agency is closing. How we count.
- ArrestedTaken to the county jail for the county where the arrest happened — not where they live.
- County jailHeld here while the case runs. 98 local jail facilities in Iowa. Bail is set and posted here.
- Court and sentencingMost people leave from here. Only a sentence to state time moves someone into the prison system.
- Released, fined, or a county sentence — the path ends here for most people
- Reception centreWeeks, not days. They are scored, assessed and assigned. Expect little contact during this stage — this is the part families are least warned about.
- InstitutionPlaced at one of 9 institutions, at a security level set by their score — not by the worst thing the prison is allowed to hold.
- Release and supervisionThey report to a parole or probation office, which is rarely the city they were held in.
Browse Iowa records by system.
Jails, state prisons, federal facilities, and ICE detention are run by different agencies under different rules. These groups are how we file the records — not official counts of what the state operates.
What do you need to do in Iowa?
Each link goes to the agency that actually handles it. Individual facilities can still add their own rules, so confirm with the one holding the person.
All Iowa facility records.
Open a group to see its records. Type in the box to narrow the list by facility, city, or county.
State prisons in Iowa33 records
County and city jails in Iowa98 records
Juvenile facilities in Iowa11 records
| Facility | City | County |
|---|---|---|
| Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center | Eldora | Hardin |
| Linn County Juvenile Detention Center | Cedar Rapids | Linn |
| North Iowa Juvenile Detention Services | Waterloo | Black Hawk |
| Northwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center | Cherokee | Cherokee |
| Polk County Juvenile Detention Center | Des Moines | Polk |
| Scott County Juvenile Detention Center | Davenport | Scott |
| South Iowa Juvenile Detention Services Agency | Chariton | Lucas |
| Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center | Council Bluffs | Pottawattamie |
| State Training School For Boys | Eldora | Hardin |
| Toledo Iowa Juvenile Home | Toledo | Tama |
| Woodbury County Juvenile Detention Center | Sioux City | Woodbury |
Community corrections and work release in Iowa2 records
| Facility | City | County |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Des Moines Community Corrections Complex | Des Moines | Polk |
| Lary A Nelson Center (Cedar Rapids Work Release) | Cedar Rapids | Linn |
Other facilities in Iowa1 records
| Facility | City | County |
|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Police Department | Waterloo | Black Hawk |
Where in Iowa?
Most people know the county or the city, not the name of the facility. Start there. Bail is set and posted at the county jail, so the county page is also where the sheriff, the custody search and the court contacts live.
97 counties in Iowa with facility records
- Black Hawk County 5
- Linn County 5
- Polk County 5
- Pottawattamie County 4
- Scott County 4
- Hardin County 3
- Johnson County 3
- Lee County 3
- Page County 3
- Webster County 3
- Woodbury County 3
- Cerro Gordo County 2
- Cherokee County 2
- Dallas County 2
- Des Moines County 2
- Dubuque County 2
- Emmet County 2
- Fayette County 2
- Henry County 2
- Jasper County 2
- Jones County 2
- Marshall County 2
- Sioux County 2
- Story County 2
- Wapello County 2
- Adair County 1
- Adams County 1
- Appanoose County 1
- Audubon County 1
- Benton County 1
- Boone County 1
- Bremer County 1
- Buchanan County 1
- Buena Vista County 1
- Butler County 1
- Calhoun County 1
- Carroll County 1
- Cass County 1
- Cedar County 1
- Chickasaw County 1
- Clarke County 1
- Clay County 1
- Clayton County 1
- Clinton County 1
- Crawford County 1
- Davis County 1
- Decatur County 1
- Delaware County 1
- Dickinson County 1
- Floyd County 1
- Fremont County 1
- Greene County 1
- Grundy County 1
- Guthrie County 1
- Hamilton County 1
- Hancock County 1
- Harrison County 1
- Howard County 1
- Humboldt County 1
- Ida County 1
- Iowa County 1
- Jackson County 1
- Jefferson County 1
- Keokuk County 1
- Kossuth County 1
- Louisa County 1
- Lucas County 1
- Lyon County 1
- Madison County 1
- Mahaska County 1
- Marion County 1
- Mills County 1
- Mitchell County 1
- Monona County 1
- Monroe County 1
- Montgomery County 1
- Muscatine County 1
- O'brien County 1
- Osceola County 1
- Palo Alto County 1
- Plymouth County 1
- Pocahontas County 1
- Poweshiek County 1
- Ringgold County 1
- Sac County 1
- Shelby County 1
- Tama County 1
- Taylor County 1
- Union County 1
- Van Buren County 1
- Warren County 1
- Washington County 1
- Wayne County 1
- Winnebago County 1
- Winneshiek County 1
- Worth County 1
- Wright County 1
104 cities in Iowa with facility records
- Cedar Rapids 5
- Des Moines 5
- Waterloo 5
- Council Bluffs 4
- Davenport 4
- Burlington 3
- Clarinda 3
- Eldora 3
- Fort Dodge 3
- Sioux City 3
- Anamosa 2
- Chariton 2
- Cherokee 2
- Coralville 2
- Dubuque 2
- Marshalltown 2
- Mason City 2
- Montrose 2
- Mount Pleasant 2
- Newton 2
- Ottumwa 2
- Toledo 2
- West Union 2
- Adel 1
- Albia 1
- Algona 1
- Allison 1
- Ames 1
- Atlantic 1
- Audubon 1
- Bedford 1
- Bloomfield 1
- Boone 1
- Carroll 1
- Centerville 1
- Charles City 1
- Clarion 1
- Clinton 1
- Corning 1
- Corydon 1
- Cresco 1
- Creston 1
- Decorah 1
- Denison 1
- Emmetsburg 1
- Estherville 1
- Fairfield 1
- Forest City 1
- Fort Madison 1
- Garner 1
- Glenwood 1
- Greenfield 1
- Grundy Center 1
- Gruver 1
- Guthrie Center 1
- Harlan 1
- Humboldt 1
- Ida Grove 1
- Independence 1
- Indianola 1
- Iowa City 1
- Jefferson 1
- Keosauqua 1
- Knoxville 1
- Le Mars 1
- Leon 1
- Logan 1
- Manchester 1
- Maquoketa 1
- Marengo 1
- Mitchellville 1
- Montezuma 1
- Mount Ayr 1
- Muscatine 1
- Nevada 1
- New Hampton 1
- Northwood 1
- Onawa 1
- Orange City 1
- Osage 1
- Osceola 1
- Oskaloosa 1
- Pocahontas 1
- Primghar 1
- Red Oak 1
- Rock Rapids 1
- Rockwell City 1
- Sac City 1
- Saint Olaf 1
- Sheldon 1
- Sibley 1
- Sidney 1
- Sigourney 1
- Spencer 1
- Spirit Lake 1
- Storm Lake 1
- Tipton 1
- Vinton 1
- Wapello 1
- Washington 1
- Waverly 1
- Webster City 1
- Winterset 1
- Woodward 1
4 closed facilities in Iowa
These have shut. Nobody is held at any of them. They are listed because the names stay in people’s records, letters and memories long after the doors close, and because a directory that simply omits them looks broken to the person searching.
4 more, closing date not yet confirmed
- POLK COUNTY INTERIM JAIL Des Moines
- SOUTH IOWA JUVENILE DETENTION SERVICES AGENCY Chariton
- TOLEDO IOWA JUVENILE HOME Toledo
- WOODLANDS TREATMENT CENTER Burlington
Parole and probation
Iowa parole offices — where someone reports after release, which is rarely the city they were held in.